Pasta with goat cheese, asparagus, and chicken sausage

I made this recipe for dinner last night and it was delicious. I made a couple of small tweaks to it--I didn't use butter and just cooked the pasta in water with olive oil. I also added some slided cherry tomatoes (not cooked, just tossed them in to the pasta). It was very tasty, and I think the idea of adding a bit of the pasta water to the pasta when you're doing pasta with goat cheese is actually a really smart idea, it makes it into much more of a sauce than it otherwise would be.

Pasta with Goat Cheese, Asparagus, and Chicken Sausage
serves 4
adapted from Everyday Food: Fresh Flavor Fast

• 2 bunches of asparagus (2 pounds), tough ends removed
• olive oil
• 3 Tablespoon unsalted butter cut into small pieces
• kosher salt and ground black pepper
• 4 links Roasted Garlic Chicken Sausage (optional)
• 12 ounces short pasta shapes
• 5 ounces fresh goat cheese, softened
• 2 Tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 2-3 Tablespoons snipped fresh chives, for garnish

Preheat oven to 450. Toss asparagus with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and place them on a baking sheet. Slice chicken sausage into 1-inch pieces, and place on the baking sheet alongside the asparagus. Roast until tender, tossing the asparagus and turning the sausage, about 10-15 minutes. Slice asparagus into 2-inch pieces.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 1 Tablespoon of salt, and cook the pasta until al dente. Reserve 1 1/2 cups of the cooking water, and drain the pasta.

Whisk together the goat cheese, butter, Parmesan, and 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Season with salt and pepper, and whisk until smooth.

Return the pasta to the pot, and toss with the goat-cheese mixture, asparagus, and chicken sausage. Add pasta water a few tablespoons at at time, until a thin sauce coats the pasta.

Divide evenly among shallow bowls, and garnish with chives.

Canadian Butter Tarts

My team is having a competition next Thursday to see who can make the best Canadian food. Apparently everyone is looking to me to win...I think largely (or really entirely) because I'm the only girl on the team. This apparently gives me a huge inherent advantage. It's surprisingly difficult to find traditional canadian food that looks the slightest bit appetizing, but I have found these butter tarts, which look like they should taste good, mostly because I think they're all fat. I'm going to make them this week and will let you know how they go!

Butter Tarts October 26

FILED UNDER RECIPES, TARTS BY NICOLE | 17 COMMENTS

A butter tart is a Canadian specialty that, unless you have friends or family living up North, you may never have experienced. I’ve certainly never seen them sold in any bakery around here. The pastries are made with a tart shell that is filled with a mixture of sugar and butter, held together with eggs. Often, the tart filling includes raisins or chopped nuts, but a plain tart is pretty standard - and pretty darn tasty, too.

The closest way I can think of to describe the overall texture of the tart is to say that it is a little bit like a pecan pie without the pecans. But that really only emcompasses a small part (the sweetness) of the tart. The filling is gooey and buttery, almost slick with a melt-in-your-mouth texture and just the right amount of caramely sweetness from the sugar. It is held together with a hint of flaky crispness from the pastry crust. The tarts are light, but rich, and it seems prudent to make them small so that you can enjoy a few bites at a time. I baked mine in a standard muffin pan, which worked out perfectly and didn’t require me to pull out a set of miniature tart pans.

This recipe turns out a very tasty butter tart. Many recipes call for the filling to be made with corn syrup (sometimes lots of corn syrup), but mine starts with brown sugar. I added a little bit of maple syrup for an extra hint of flavor, and made sure to include a pinch of salt to take the edge off the sweetness of the filling. Since I made two dozen, I made half with raisins and half without. The amount of raisins given below is approximate; just sprinkle a few raisins into each tart shell to suit your tastes. Since the raisins take up some of the filling space in the shells, you might get two or three fewer tarts if you omit them entirely, so keep that in mind. I used my pate brisee recipe to make the crust. One recipe makes enough dough for two dozen small tarts.

Butter Tarts
1 recipe for pate brisee, chilled (enough for a double crust pie)
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350F.
Roll out chilled pate brisee base on a lightly floured surface until it is about 1/8-inch thick. Use a 3.5- or 4-inch round cookie cutter (a fluted cookie cutter will give you a nice edge, if you have it) to cut out 24 rounds from the dough. Place each round into a muffin cup on a standard muffin tin and press down lightly to make sure the crust goes into the corners.
In a large bowl, cream together brown sugar and butter. When light and fluffy, beat in eggs, vinegar, maple syrup, vanilla extract and salt until smooth.
Divide raisins into tart shells and top each with a generous spoonful of filling to cover the raisins and reach the top of the crust.
Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until filling is golden and the edges of the crust are lightly browned.
Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack. Serve warm, at room temperature or cold (if you have completely cooled them before storing in the fridge).

Makes 2 dozen.

Vegetarian Cassoulet

This would be pretty decent, without the garlicy homemade bread crumbs. With them, it is incredibly delicious. For some reason the blogger lady recommends Great Northern or another big white bean, but cassoulet is traditionally made with flageolet beans. These are totally endemic to France though, so they can be a bit hard to find (www.ranchogordo.com!!). I think she's probably right that adding sausage would make it even more amazing...SIGH...

Original site: http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/03/vegetarian-cassoulet/

Adapted from Gourmet, March 2008

For cassoulet
3 medium leeks (white and pale green parts only)
4 medium carrots, halved
lengthwise and cut into 1-inch-wide pieces
3 celery ribs, cut into 1-inch-wide pieces
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
4 thyme sprigs
2 parsley sprigs
1 Turkish or 1/2 California bay leaf
3 (19-ounce) cans cannellini or Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained or 4 1/2 cups cooked dried beans (dried beans cooking instructions here)
1 19-ounce can diced tomatoes, with their juice
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 quart stock

For garlic crumbs
4 cups coarse fresh bread crumbs from a baguette
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1/4 cup chopped parsley

Make cassoulet:
Halve leeks lengthwise and cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces, then wash well and pat dry.

Cook leeks, carrots, celery, and garlic in oil with herb sprigs, bay leaf, cloves, and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper in a large heavy pot over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until softened and golden, about 15 minutes. Stir in beans, tomatoes, tomato paste, then stock, and simmer, partially covered, stirring occasionally, until carrots are tender but not falling apart, about 30 minutes.

Make garlic crumbs while cassoulet simmers:
Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.

Toss bread crumbs with oil, garlic, and 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper in a bowl until well coated. Spread in a baking pan and toast in oven, stirring once halfway through, until crisp and golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool crumbs in pan, then return to bowl and stir in parsley.

Finish cassoulet:
Discard herb sprigs and bay leaf. Mash some of beans in pot with a potato masher or back of a spoon to thicken broth. Season with salt and pepper. Just before serving, sprinkle with garlic crumbs.

How about some sausage with that! Slice one pound of cooked sausage into discs and mix with the bean and vegetable stew before adding the breadcrumbs. From here, you can either heat them through for another 15 minutes on the stove, then finish with the breadcrumbs, or add an additional cup of water/broth, scatter that breadcrumbs on top and bake it in a 350°F oven for 20 minutes until the sausage is heated through.

TIPS!

And I think this is cool.

http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/tips-techniques/30-gold-medal-tips-that-pack-some-punch-in-the-kitchen--108787

Who knew you could test for egg freshness?

Creamy White Polenta with Mushrooms

So I haven't actually made this. To be honest. But I love this food blog and it looks really really awesome and I did make the mushroom part, which was great (even given the fact that I was feeling sort of lame and left out most of the butter). And grits are rad.

Original Post: http://smittenkitchen.com/2007/11/creamy-white-polenta-with-mushrooms/

Creamy White Polenta with Mushrooms and Mascarpone
Adapted from Jonathan Waxman, via Gourmet, October 2005

Just because I found this a little rich doesn’t mean it won’t work for you, but you might consider tweaking the ratios at bit. This makes a lot of grits to a relatively small amount of mushrooms. You could halve the grits or double the mushrooms, for example, or of course keep it like so if you want it to look more like the picture.

For polenta
4 1/2 cups water
1 cup coarse stone-ground white grits (preferably organic)
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

For mushrooms
1 pound assorted fresh exotic mushrooms such as porcini, oyster, chanterelle, lobster, and hedgehog
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, smashed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup water
3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (we used chives)

For serving
1/2 cup mascarpone (though we used crème fraîche, and just a tad)
2 tablespoons finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Make polenta: Bring water to a simmer in a 3- to 4-quart heavy saucepan. Add grits in a slow stream, whisking until incorporated. Simmer, stirring occasionally with a long-handled whisk or wooden spoon, until liquid is absorbed and polenta is thick and soft, about 30 minutes. (Grits will have a loose, risotto-like consistency.) Remove from heat and stir in cream, cheese, salt, and pepper. Keep warm, covered.

Saute mushrooms while polenta simmers: If using porcini, halve if large, then slice lengthwise into 1/4-inch thick slices. If using oysters, trim spongy base if necessary and slice caps into 1/2-inch-wide strips. If using chanterelles, leave small mushrooms whole, halve if medium, and quarter if large. If using lobsters, cut into 1/2-inch pieces. If using hedgehogs, trim base of stems and halve caps if large.

Heat oil in a 10-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then saute mushrooms, garlic, salt, and pepper, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are golden and any liquid they give off is evaporated, 6 to 8 minutes.

Add water, butter, lemon juice, and parsley and heat, swirling skillet, until butter melts and liquid forms a sauce.

To serve: Top each serving of polenta with mushrooms and mascarpone. Serve immediately (polenta stiffens as it cools), sprinkled with Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Note: Mushroom sauce can be made 1 hour ahead and kept, covered, at room temperature. Reheat before using.

A healthier version of Arroz con Pollo

Arthur and I whipped up this recipe last week by just throwing a bunch of spices into a wok with some veggies, brown rice and chicken (and a pineapple....which I think Arthur then regretted, but I kind of enjoyed). It was very delicious and made plenty for leftovers the next day. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• Chicken
• Brown rice
• 1 can diced or stewed tomatoes (not flavored)
• Bell pepper(s)
• Onion
• Garlic
• mushrooms
• Broccoli
• Cumin
• Tumeric

Directions:

1. Start cooking the brown rice ahead of time--I don't really know exact quantities here so just base it on how much you think you'd eat. I think we made about 1.5 cups of wet rice
2. Bake chicken in oven so that it is fully cooked but not dry. While the chicken is baking, you can begin your stir-fry.
3. Saute onion and garlic in olive oil until it starts to brown slightly
4. Add other vegetables and saute until somewhat cooked, but not completely soggy--you still have to add the chicken and the rice
5. Shred the baked chicken with a fork and toss it into the stir-fry
6. Add cumin and tumeric to taste
7. Add rice and stewed tomatoes and let rice absorb the juices from the can of tomatoes
8. Continue to add spices to taste

I thought this was a very delicious dish...if you guys make any changes to it, let me know, I'd love to make it again with additions. One potential addition would be sweet potato, though I'm not sure how well it would go with the mixture....just a thought :)

Tanya's pink sauce

Hey guys,

I thought I'd put this recipe on the blog so that I can easily find it when need be. Huge thanks to Tanya for this...it was so delicious. I prefer it without the sausage...but I think most people would disagree :). A tip from Emily: "Note that in order to make the sauce turn out right, you also have to add a little tomato paste and a small can of tomato sauce. otherwise the sauce turns out really watery and a bit strange."

Love,

margs

Mom's Pink Sauce:

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup carrots
1/2 cup onions
2 teaspoons minced garlic cloves
1/4 cup minced green onions
2 cups diced tomatoes in juice (16 ounce can of tam)
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
3 tablespoons fresh basil
1/2 pint heavy cream
4 cups cooked penne pasta
salt to taste
*should make 6 servings (consider doubling)

directions:
chop carrots and onions
sauce pan over medium heat, when hot add olive oil,

chopped carrots and onions
cook until carrots / onions soften and brown
add garlic, green onions, canned diced tomatoes
cook 15 minutes
add cream, crushed red pepper flakes, basil
cook another 15 minutes
cook penne pasta according to directions
place hot penne pasta in shallow pasta dish or bowl

spicy italian raw sausage, take out of casing and

crumble it (like cooking ground beef)
or get the precooked and just slice